June is blooming in the garden!
After a long spell of dry weather in north Lincolnshire we have finally had some rain! Not a lot, but the one inch (25mm) was enough to freshen up the garden and green up the lawns. Although it was welcome, we need more and only last night (31st May) I was out watering Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’, Hydrangea paniculata and other plants in the borders because they were wilting!
Because it’s been so mild with no frosts for many weeks, I took the bold step to plant my runner beans and courgettes out in early May, rather than wait until late May. Fortunately, it paid off and my runner beans are over 2ft tall and the first flower buds are showing and the courgettes have made strong plants. Touch wood we don’t get a late frost!
In the borders I did the ‘Chelsea chop’ on a few perennials, which I think will pay off as others like the nepeta have grown large and sprawly. And I’ve also brought out some of the pelargoniums which are loving being in the sun on the bench by the greenhouse.
If you want to see how the garden is developing, Pots & Trowels will be Live from the garden on Thursday 12th June at 7pm on Facebook and YouTube. We’ll also be answering your gardening questions, so feel free to email them to us on info@potsandtrowels.com
The next shows with the Potting Shed stage will be the Lincolnshire Show on 18th & 19th June, followed by Harlow Carr on 21-22 June, so hopefully we might see some of you there.
Jobs for June
Roses are fairly tough but always grow and flower better if their roots are moist. To keep them healthy and to promote lots of flowers through the summer, give the roots a good soak and feed with a balanced fertiliser.
Tie in the new shoots of rambling and climbing roses while they are soft to get a framework of branches. This also prevents them blowing around and being damaged.
With the recent rain, lawns are growing again, so keep mowing little and often to encourage the thick covering of grass. Mulch mowing works well and recycles the nutrients to help keep the grass greener.
Hanging baskets and summer containers need to be watered to keep the compost moist and as soon as they start to flower, feed weekly with a high potash liquid fertiliser to keep them growing and flowering.
Spring flowering clematis can be lightly trimmed if needed once the flowers have faded. This encourages new growth to flower next year.
Stake tall growing perennials in borders with twiggy sticks or by using wire or plastic plant supports pushed into the soil around the plants.
Continue to ‘earth-up’ potatoes to form ridges of soil around the plants. Use a spade or hoe to draw soil up around the stems to encourage more tubers to develop from side shoots in the ridges.
Keep sowing vegetables such as lettuce, carrots, beetroot, spinach, dwarf French beans and spring onions directly into the garden in shallow drills.
Tomatoes need side shooting regularly to remove the shoots that grow in the leaf joints and once the first fruits have set, feed weekly with a high potash liquid fertiliser.
Protect newly planted cabbages, kales and all members of the brassica family with fleece or fine netting to keep off pigeons that peck away at the young leaves and to help protect against cabbage white butterflies.
There’s still time to sow lots of flower and vegetable seeds and Kings Seeds are once again offering a 10% discount on seeds purchased from their web site www.kingsseeds.com by quoting the code PT2025. It’s valid until the end of 2025. (T&Cs apply)
For more weekly gardening tips and advice, you can watch our gardening videos “Pots & Trowels” on Facebook or subscribe on YouTube for free. And don’t forget our weekly P&T podcast where we chat to gardening guests, give a few jobs for the week and answer your gardening questions. Available through your normal podcast provider or listen on www.potsandtrowels.com
Happy gardening
Martin Fish. www.martinfish.com